"We've got, I think, over 40,000 acres now available that are open up to hunting for the public, so it's about access and making sure people have the information to know where to go and have fun," Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp said.

It uses GPS to pinpoint a hunter's location and tell them if they are within the legal hunting time for that day.

Right now, the app is only available for Android phones.

DNR spokesman Ed Culhane said this year's season is at its earliest possible date because it's tied to Thanksgiving, which is early. He said deer will still likely be mating and therefore more active and less cautious.

According to the DNR, there were nearly 376,000 licenses sold as of Tuesday. That's compared to nearly 403,000 last year at the same time. But Culhane said the Friday before the season is traditionally the busiest single day for sales.

This year, Gov. Scott Walker wanted to streamline Wisconsin's hunting season structure, after hunters complained. There was no October gun hunt for antlerless deer. There is also no Earn-A-Buck requirement for the first antlered deer.